Posts Tagged ‘crochet octopus’

Octo Project is a worldwide project that has crafters help preemies thrive by crocheting octopuses for babies in the NICU. The tentacles of the octopus resemble the umbilical cord and remind babies of the womb and comfort.

This is a modified crochet pattern by Anastasia Popova to the original Octo Project pattern. Changes are made to accommodate worsted weight yarn and eliminate seeming.

Skills Required:

Basic stitches (single crochet)

Adjustable ring

Increases

Decreases

Crocheting in the round

Basic sewing

Finished Measurements: About 8″ tall. Head circumference is about 7″. Curled up tentacles are about 4-5″ long, fully stretched cannot exceed 8″ for safety reasons.

Yarn: Worsted weight 100% cotton yarn.

I would recommend not using mercerized cotton as it is treated with chemicals to make yarn shinier. I would also recommend not using yellow color for preemies (bad juju). I have used Sugar n’ Cream which can be purchased at any big box craft store. It’s inexpensive, readily available and comes in a lot of colors. It could be a little hard on your hands as it needs to be crocheted at a tight gauge. Another great option that I will mostly be using is Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Cotton, very soft, great color selection.

Recent Comments

I am obsessed with making these adorable octopuses! It is a great take-along project to work on while waiting or riding, etc. I use a smaller hook for the “head” and one size up for the tentacles so that tiny fingers can grab on – for me, the smaller hook made them too tight.

Brenda

I used this pattern to make several octopi and then contacted the University of Chicago hospital to see if they would accept them. I was referred to the Facebook page mentioned above and found out that they have different, stricter standards for: yarn, hook size, must be made in two parts, and must be stuffed to be very hard, etc. I don’t think my hands can take the stress of making them to those standards, so we are finding other places to donate the ones that my sister-in-law and I made. They are fun to make!